


More of You

by thatcrazyhippie



Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Old Age
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:20:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21696088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatcrazyhippie/pseuds/thatcrazyhippie
Summary: Time has taken a lot from Tony and Pepper Stark but the one thing it's never quite touched...their love for each other.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	More of You

_When I look at you now that years have gone by_   
_I think of the memories that time can’t erase_   
_And all of the smiles that you’ve brought to my face_   
_You’re love’s been so true_

'More of You' - Chris Stapleton

...

They've both aged, even if some would say, he aged her more than she aged naturally. His hair is a little more salt, than the salt-and-pepper from his days as a distinguished CEO and industrialist. He sports a few more wrinkles around his mouth and crow's feet crinkle the skin around his eyes when he smiles, even as his smile never changes. He's more prone to fits of grumpiness, than the happy-go-lucky nature of his youth, and often times, when he grows tired of his own bitterness, he sulks in the solitude of an empty room. There is still only one person capable of drawing him out of his reclusive shell that he retreats into, but she's aging, too, and her strength is slowly wearing away. There are a few more wrinkles at the corners of her mouth and eyes. Getting out of bed isn't as comfortable as it used to be, with her joints protesting her every move, but still she persists on. 

Age is but a number, her mother always said. 

But, each new number means another year gone, and they're both starting to feel the exhaustion of growing older. The wear and tear endured from his life as a CEO, as an Avenger, is telling on him. It's in the stiffness in his back when he reaches for the coffee cup in the cupboard, and the weakness in his muscles when he lifts anything heavier than a book. It's evident in the lost look in her eyes when she attempts to handle the company, and the lack of patience for things, she used to devote most of her time to. It's evident in their personalities; the change in them and the bitterness of old age. But, they've never changed their love for one another. 

They weren't supposed to make it to ten years. Rumors of cheating and divorce and Pepper leaving had been trashy magazines' haphazard attempt at tearing them apart. People had warned her about Tony, even after he put a ring on her finger, and gave her his last name. But, they had endured, and despite the hard times, they had made it. They stuck by each other, through thick and thin, in sickness and in health. 

Just as he's doing now, when she's tucked away in their bed with pneumonia. Her diagnosis a few days ago had kept Tony vigilantly attending to her every need and refusing to leave her side, unless it was to shower. She sleeps most of the time, only waking when he's made her something to eat and he needs her to take some medicine or personal hygiene requires her attention. So, he waits patiently in a chair for her to wake up and revels in every moment when does finally wake up. 

"Hey, sleepyhead." a tender hand brushes her silver curls away from her face. "Feelin' better?" 

"Tony?" she almost doesn't recognize her own voice; it's so soft, these days, worn down from years of almost constant use. "Tony?" 

"Yeah." 

"Hi." a weak smile is all she's able to offer him, but it is enough. 

He cocoons her frail hand in both of his, and smiles that tender smile that he always reserved just for her. "Hey, sweetheart." 

"I'm sorry." Pepper apologizes, wincing at the painful tug in her chest and the burn in her throat. "I'm not very good company." 

"It's alright, baby." 

Aldrich Killian. 

She thinks that's his name - her mental acuity isn't quite what it used to be. That's the last time she remembers Tony calling her baby, was their unfortunate debacle with Killian. Later, 'baby' morphed into a variety of pet names before the soft, mushy part of him settled on 'sweetheart', and her given nickname of 'Pepper' became nothing but a memory. She still calls him Tony, but she can't recall with all that much clarity, when he last called her Pepper. 

"I miss you." her voice sounds so frail, so broken, and she feels tears sting her eyes at how fragile she sounds. "I don't want to be like this." 

"I know, sweetheart. I miss you, too." Tony murmurs against the back of her hand, where he's currently pressing kisses into each knuckle. "It's alright. You're going to get better. I've gotten you better, before, I think I can fix this, too." 

"Can't fix everything." Pepper shifts, the mattress growing steadily uncomfortable beneath her. 

"Maybe not, but I can damn sure try." he quips, grinning when it elicits a breathy, if a bit pained laugh from her. The sweetness of his next words come in the wake of a somber smile. "You know, sweetheart, I think you've always made me smile. We've been together for, what? Forty years, now? We're both growing old, both grumpy and tired, but you've always made me smile, made me laugh. I love that about you."   
He squeezes her hand affectionately; a fond facsimile of memories, he can't quite let go of. Of cool summer nights squeezing her close under a light cotton sheet, both terribly uncomfortable but content, squished in the backseat of a fix-'er-up convertible, watching the sun set on the horizon and the waves roll in on a carpet of beige sand. Of cold winter days in New York, with chocolate scones and window shopping and ice skating at Rockefeller center, sharing roasted chestnuts and hot chocolate. 

"I love you, Tony." 

"I love you, too." he tries his best to hide them, but he's afraid the tears are painfully obvious in his eyes. "I look at you, sometimes, and I see memories. Things we've done, adventures we've been on, and I hope that time won't erase them. All of those beautiful smiles you've given me, all of the ways you make me smile and laugh. Everything. It makes me want more of you, even though I know our time together is shorter, now." 

"We still have forever, Tony." Pepper pulls the covers from his side of the bed and pats the mattress. "Join me, please? I need my husband." 

So, he does. 

It hurts a little more, these days, but it's well worth it. He climbs into bed beside her, fixes the sheet and comforter over both of them, and he holds her close. That's how they like to be; squeezed together in a contentedly tight hold. She still likes the way they fit against each other, and he still likes wrapping his arms around his wife's warmth. They still like being together, talking and laughing, and making each other smile like school-children with crushes. 

Time has taken a lot from them. 

But, never each other. 


End file.
